The Fox and the Monkey
by xyvortex
Summary: On their way to wave, team seven encounters trouble. Their sensei trapped, they face insurmountable odds until an orangeclad hyperactive cooks apprentice got into the fight.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**Apologies to anybody looking for the next chapter of Blind Faith, hopefully that will be out next weekend

Disclaimer: All copyrighted materials belong to their parent companies. I only have a lease on the plot.

The Fox and the Monkey

Ch1: The Mission to Wave

The mission to wave couldn't have gone more wrong. Sakura cursed herself for the hundredth time over demanding something better than the "D" ranked missions team seven had been assigned since it was formed. When Iruka had offered a mission to babysit the Diamo's Nieces triplets (again) they'd all protested loud enough for the Hokage himself to assign them their first "C" rank mission. They'd been tasked to escort an old man named Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave, back to his job site and help guard against bandits while the bridge between the island and mainland was completed. To Sakura at the time, it seemed like the perfect mission; it was a chance to be out of the village, far away from Ino-Pig and the other Konoha fan girls where she could be alone with her Sasuke-Kun. Unfortunately, from there, things got complicated.

Barely more than a day's travel from the village, they'd been attacked by two Nuke-nin who'd appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. The renegade Shinobi were Chunin-level, but were easily taken down by Kakashi, though not without cost. Both Sakura and Sasuke had come out of the fight relatively unharmed. Kakashi, though appearing to have been cut to ribbons by the Demon Brothers early in the fight, had used _Kwarmi_ and had later taken down the Nuke-Nins without spilling a drop of his own blood. Their final team mate hadn't been so lucky.

Inuzuka Kiba, the most impulsive of them, had sprung at their attackers without thought of his mission or a plan. His rashness not only caused him to be injured and poisoned, but also resulted in the death of Akamaru, his ninja dog. If he hadn't bled out the poison, he probably would have joined his pet in death. Survive he did, however, though sorely hurt both in mind and body.

When pressed afterwards, Tazuna admitted that he'd been threatened by a crime lord in Wave country named Gato, over his current project. Returning from recruiting workers, the old man had lied about the danger because Wave had become poor under Gato's control and they couldn't afford more than "C" ranked protection. Kakashi-Sensei had considered ending the mission there, in fact he was in the middle of ordering them to return when Kiba stopped him.

Going on about resolve and the way of the Ninja, Kiba Demanded that they finish the mission, if for nothing else than toi make Akamaru's sacrifice worth something. In all truthfulness, it was painfully obvious that Kiba was after revenge. It was a sentiment both Kakashi and Sasuke understood though the jounin sensei knew that things could only get worse from there. Leaving the choice up to his genins, Kakashi put it to a vote.

Both Kiba and Sasuke immediately voted to see the mission through, Sakura wavered but in the end, she knew she coudln't let her hero down. With a unanimous decision by his students, Kakashi had everyone gather their gear and they all continued toward Wave Country.

Now, a few hours away from Tazuna's home, they'd been attacked again. This time by a shinobi far more dangerous than the other two. There'd been no real warning, first they'd been walking along peacefully, next, Kakashi had pushed them all down, barely dodging a giant flying sword that seemed to come from nowhere followed quickly by its owner. The ninja's name was Zabuza, Demon of the Mist. When he'd first faced off against them, the Genin found themselves frozen in fear of the killing intent he radiated. It was only from Sasuke injuring himself that he was able to break free of the paralysis and spur his team mates into protecting Tazuna while the Missing Nin and Kakashi fought.

Back and forth they went, each jounin using bunshins to fool the other as they tried for a killing stroke. Kiba, seeing a chance to avenge Akamaru, rushed Zabuza from his blind side only to be slashed deeply by the missing-nin's sword. Zabuza lined up for the finishing stroke and would have ended Kiba's life right there but Kakashi tackled the demon and they both fell into the lake. When the splash subsided, Zabuza stood on top of the water while Kakashi crouched, trapped in a water prison.

Sakura and Sasuke stood protectively in front of Tazuna, torn between their sensei's orders and wanting to retrieve Kiba before he bled to death. Their situation only worstened when Zabuza formed some one handed seals and another water bunshin took shape in front of him. "Konoha ninja make me sick," the Zabuza bunshin laughed as he stepped onto dry land. "They teach children to play with toys and send them out, thinking themselves shinobi, but they have no real idea what it means to be a ninja. By the time I reached your age I'd killed a hundred men; have you killed? Are you ready to die for your village, for your Kage's whim?"

Seeing Sakura's fear stricken face, the missing-nin laughed. "It's as I thought, you're a bunch of weak willed children out to play a game." Stopping over the still writhing form of Kiba, the bunshin raised its sword and prepared for the killing blow. Out of nowhere, an orange blur slammed into the bunshin and sent it careening into some nearby trees where it exploded into a cascade of water. At the same time, Kiba vanished from where he'd been laying and reappeared on the ground behind the two genin.

Over him knelt a strange blond haired boy in an orange Gi. He was holding a cloth over Kiba's wound, urging him to eat what looked like a small green pill. "You'll be alright now, that guy just plays a little rough," he said before looking up at Sasuke and Sakura. "HI," he greeted them with an open smile. The two genin opened their mouths to ask any one of a thousand questions that came to mind but were distracted by a curse from the lake.

Zabuza, seeing and feeling his bunshin's destruction, growled in anger before forming two more of the water constructs. Two pillars of water formed in front of him, quickly taking his shape and coloration. On shore, the blond boy, seeing that Kiba's wound had stopped bleeding and that the genin had fallen into a peaceful sleep, quickly rose to face the boy's comrads.

"Sorry to just show up like this," he said with his hands clasped behind his head and a huge smile on his face. "I saw you sparring and I wanted to play too, if it's okay. I'm Son Naruto."

While Naruto was talking, Sakura took a moment to look over the new boy. He was blond haired, blue eyed and looked to be about their age. He wore a sleeveless orange Gi over a blue under shirt, along with blue wrist bands and sandals. The very short sleeves left most of his muscular arms exposed, making it obvious the boy was used to a lot of physical activity. Sasuke had been studying Naruto as well, but was outwardly far from impressed.

"This isn't a spar, dobe," he growled. "That's an A-class Nuke Nin and he's trying to kill the old fool back there and us along with him. I don't care what kind of lucky shot you got in back there, but he's way out of our league, much less yours. Do yourself a favor and get out of here before you get hurt."

Taking advantage of Sasuke's distraction, the Zabuza bunshins shot forward to engage the genin. Jumping forward to meet the attack of one, Naruto yelled a warning to the three genin left guarding Tazuna. Growling a curse, Sasuke did his best to engage the other while Sakura and a newly awakened and surprisingly improved, though not completely healed, Kiba, remained to defend the bridge builder.

Sasuke fought like a boy possessed. He was not only the Uchiha prodigy but also the top placing student of the Rookie nine. In his opinion, his taijutsu skills were second to none. He was hard pressed, however, in those first moments to even hold up an effective defence against the Nuke-nin. The Zabuza bunshin seemed to be everywhere, punching, kicking and driving him back. Already Sasuke was sure that one of his ribs was cracked at best and one of his eyes was swollen closed. More humiliating, if he'd had the time for such considerations, was how the blond boy was faring.

The blur of motion that was Son Naruto seemed to flow with the energy of a springtime river. While still entirely on the defensive, much like the Uchiha, Naruto's blocks were neither rushed nor overpowered by Zabuza's attacks. The orange-clad boy wore a wild, almost gleeful expression as he dodged and axe kick, then lauching an offensive of his own.

Zabuza, for his part, was mildly surprised and impressed by the level of skill this child, who had to be a genin by his age and demeanour. Still, the boy didn't have the raw strength or speed of a Jounin, much less a Nuke-Nin of his level. As he pushed back the boy's latest attack, his curiosity got the better of him. "So just what are you, boy? You fight like a shinobi but I don't see a Hitai-ate anywhere. Are you another gaki from the Leaf?"

Knocking aside a vicious lunge, the boy answered, "My name is Naruto and I'm not from the Leaf anymore. I'm not a Ninja either, My otou-san is the best chefu in Rain country, I'm going to be just like him someday."

Stunned by Naruto's statement, the bunshin nearly allowed itself to be dispelled when it barely dodged a strike from the blond. Growling in irritation, Zabuza unleashed his sword and said, "No 'cook' fights like that. I don't know what you really are but I'm ending your pitiful existence now." One of the legendary Seven Swordsmen, Zabuza was unparalleled in his handling of his zanbatõ. Still, any weapon has mass and the oversized sword in his hands was far slower than the orange-clad gaki. It wasn't until Naruto stumbled on a root that Zabuza saw his chance. Striking with all his strength, the Nuke-nin swung a devastating overhand blow that should have split Naruto neatly in two.

'SLAP'

The sound was nearly jarring as the zanbatõ's sudden stop. Zabuza gaped down at his weapon where the blade was being held between Naruto's open palms. The boy was straining against Zabuza's downward stroke with much effort, the razor edge of the blade mere centimetres from his scalp. Grunting with effort and more than a little exasperation, Zabuza redoubled the force behind his stroke, trying to force the blade through his target.

Naruto silently struggled to hold the sword back, widening his stance even as his feet lost traction in the loose soil by the lake. Astounded that the boy could resist this long Zabuza missed the smirk that suddenly cracked Naruto's face. Twisting to one side, Naruto used his grip on the zanbatõ to pull Zabuza off balance. Grabbing the bunshin's arm, Naruto spun him around, seemingly regardless that the Nuke-nin was easily four times his size, and threw him at the bunshin fighting Sasuke.

With no real warning, the Zabuza facing Sasuke had no chance to defend himself or move. Crashing together, the two bunshin dispelled each other, soaking the Uchiha heir.

"Yatta!" Naruto crowed as he danced around. "This is fun!"

Distracted by his own celebration, Naruto failed to notice the real Zabuza creating three new Mizu-bunshin. Sasuke noticed however, he also noticed the sheen of sweat on Zabuza's brow as he did it along with a rippling and distortion of Kakashi's water prison. Passing his calculating gaze back and forth between Naruto and Zabuza, the Uchiha heir came to a decision. "Oi, dobe!"

When Naruto looked over, he saw Sasuke pointing at the new opponents coming out of the lake, what he didn't see was Sasuke retreating back to stand beside Sakura. "What's going on," the kunoichi asked as he began digging through his pack. "Shouldn't you be helping him?"

Shaking his head tersely, Sasuke muttered, "He isn't a part of this mission or our team. He is, however, distracting Zabuza and I plan on taking advantage of that."

Not aware of the plan, Naruto faced off against the Ninja and was quickly put on the defensive. Against one opponent, the blond had little trouble protecting himself. Against three, he was being pummelled mercilessly. For every punch or kick he would block, two would make it through, connecting with his face or body. The sheer power of some blows would knock him completely down, though he would rise again immediately. While still up, Sasuke knew his little diversion would only last for a short time, that's when he acted.

Running up to the edge of the lake, Sasuke opened the Fuuma Shuriken and threw it with all his strength the real Zabuza. Not waiting to see it hit, Sasuke turned and made the tiger seal.

_( Katon: H__senka no Jutsu!)_

A dozen small fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth, toward the three bunshin attacking Naruto. Their evasion of the attack gave Naruto the break he was looking for. Setting himself and drawing on his own chakra, he roared, **_"(Kai_õ_-ken!)"_**

A tremor went through the ground beneath their feet and the very air seemed to blur around Naruto and the bunshin. The intense chakra spike turned everyone's attention toward its source. As they watched, Naruto seemed to disappear and in quick succession, the three bunshin were each dispelled by tremendous blows. Shocked by the disruption of his bunshin and the chakra loss he'd suffered making them, Zabuza missed the incoming Shuriken until it tore into his side.

Choking back a yelp of pain, Zabuza lost his footing and fell into the lake. Doing so, he released Kakashi, who danced away from the site and took up a defensive stance. Team seven's Jounin sensei was wary but heartened as Zabuza climbed back on top of the water. It was obvious the Nuke-nin was exhausted and severely, if not mortally wounded by Sasuke's attack. Pushing his Hitai-ate out of the way, Kakashi exposed his Shairngan eye and challenged his foe.

"Oi, Zabuza-san, you're in no condition to continue this fight. Maybe you should just give up, neh?"

"I am Zabuza, Demon of the Mist," the Nuke-nin declared. I killed a hundred men before I was old enough to be a genin, I won't go down without a fight."

Taking out a pair of kunai, Kakashi prepared to finish the other shinobi when a glint of light caught his eye. Senbon, thrown from the cover of a tree by the lakeside, Hit Zabuza in the chest and neck. The Nuke-nin had no time to even groan before falling into the water, apparently dead. In that same moment, a feminine, masked figure in a kimono leapt down to land by the floating corpse.

"My thanks," the masked individual said. "I have been tracking Zabuza-san for some time. His battle with you allowed me to finally catch up with him. He is wanted in Kirigakure and now we have him. If you'll excuse me, I have to dispose of the body."

The water splashed up around the two and they vanished in the spray. Kakashi, looking less than pleased, stared at the spot they'd occupied a moment before then back to shore where the remains of his team were. Grimacing, he pulled his Hitai-ate down again and sauntered over to shore.

Reaching Tazuna and his Genin, he was happy to see they were alright. Even Kiba, who'd taken the massive slashing attack from Zabuza's sword, seemed far more recovered than he could have hoped. The boy's wound even seemed to be partially healed. Seeing his other Genin and Tazuna were alright, the Jounin turned his attention to Naruto.

The orange clad boy who claimed to be the son of a cook seemed hardly worse for wear after fighting four seperate clones of an A class Nuke-nin. He was happily chattering away at Sakura, completely ignoring the suspicious glares from both Sasuke and Kiba while not seemingly at all injured from the fight.

Something else was off with the boy as well, though Kakashi couldn't put his finger on it. Naruto was familiar somehow but he wasn't sure from where.

"That was a pretty neat spar," Naruto said as he clasped his hands behind his head. "It wasn't as good as otou-san's but a lot better than working out by myself."

"What are you talking about, baka?" Sasuke growled as he confronted the blond. "That guy was a Nuke-nin. There's no way you're just the son of a cook. You're a ninja, what country are you from and where's your Hitai-ate?"

"My what?" Naruto asked, looking honestly confused. Squinting at Sasuke for a moment, he then brightened in realization. "Wait a minute... you think I'm... a shinobi?" everyone sweat dropped as Naruto fell to the ground, laughing loudly.

"Get up," growled the Uchiha. "You have to be!"

"But I'm not," answered Naruto from where he was sitting on the ground with his legs splayed out. "I mean I wanted to be a Leaf nin when I was little but that was before otou-san saved me." Sasuke was obviously still not satisfied and was about to argue further but was stopped by Kakashi's hand on his shoulder.

"We thank you for our assistance, Naruto," the jounin said pleasantly. "Which way were you headed before this?"

"The village just ahead in wave country. We're moving to Fire country and otou-san sent me to find out if we could get fish from here for our kappouten."

"We happen to be going that way as well," the jounin said with a happy look. "Why not come with us and I'm sure Tazuna-san would be willing to put you up for the night."

"I don't know-"

"Please," said the bridge builder. "You helped us at great risk to yourself; at least have dinner with us, my daughter is a wonderful cook and it's the least I can do."

Sakura had to stifle a laugh when, at the mention of food, Naruto's protests dried up and in a flash he had suddenly acquired a pack that he must have dropped before the fight as if by magic. "Gee, thanks mister, it would be rude to say no, I mean its only the right thing to do so I'm ready to go when you are how long till dinner?"

Team seven sweat dropped as one, watching Naruto jog in place on the path leading to the village. Laughing heartily, Tazuna clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder as they set off. Sighing, Kakashi waved his team forward, but with a warning. "Be alert. The person that took Zabuza wasn't a Mist hunter-nin, more likely it was one of Zabuza's comrads. He may be hurt but he isn't dead and we are still in danger of attack from members of his group." Receiving a nod from his genins, Hatake nodded and they set off after Naruto and their charge.

The last few miles to Tazuna's home were travelled quickly, if not quietly. Naruto, it turned out, was intensely curious about his ninja companions and shinobi life in general. He asked about everything from their weapons and taijutsu to ninjutsu and genjutsu. Before anyone realized it, they'd given the blond a breakdown of what it would be like to be a Konoha Ninja. Sasuke, still suspicious of the blond, tried several times to question him, only to be warned off by subtle looks from Kakashi. It was the jounin sensei himself that finally asked the first questions.

"So, Naruto. You said back there that you used to want to be a Leaf Ninja," he remarked lightly as they neared the village. "Did you and your otou-san live in Konoha for a time?" There was a lengthly pause after the question and Kakashi began to think the blond hadn't heard it. He was about to repeat himself when the boy answered in an uncharacteristicly solemn tone.

"I lived there until I was four," Naruto said quietly. "Before otou-san found me I'd been living in an orphanage. I never knew my birth parents, they were both killed the day I was born, the day Kyuubi no Yoko was defeated."

Hearing that, a pang shot through Kakashi as he began to tie his suspicions together. Unwilling to say anything yet, he let the boy continue his story by prompting him. "You said your otou-san saved you... he was your adoptive father? What did he save you from?"

"As long as I can remember, I was hated by everyone in the village, for the longest time I didn't know why. Mostly it was just glares and calling me names but sometimes... sometimes they would beat me too.

"It happened like that on my forth birthday. It really started out pretty good. I got kicked out of the orphanage but an old man, one of the few people who acknowledged me and would come to see me, he got me an apartment. He got me moved in and left me to get settled when the people showed up.

"My birthday is October 10th, the day of the victory festival. That's the day everyone celebrates the Yondaime Hokage and how he beat the Nine-tails. For me it was never a celebration, it was always a day I knew I would get beat up. Somebody must've found out about my apartment because as soon as the old man was gone they broke in the door and beat me the worst ever.

"I don't remember a whole lot of what happened. From what otou-san says, I was messed up pretty bad by the time they threw me out the window. I do remember falling, the pain stopped for a second and I was floating. I remember landing in his arms too, it should have hurt, everything did by then... he was really gentle though. Caught me before I fell far and put me down gentle. He gave me something to make me feel better and he went to stop the people from coming.

"I don't know what he did but it didn't take long. The next thing I knew, we were floating again and I woke up the next morning at his house. Since then I've lived with my otou-san and I haven't been back."

Everyone listening to Naruto's tale gaped at the blond with pale faces, shocked that the people would treat anybody like that, much less a child. Kakashi looked grim and somehow ashamed, he seemed unable to look Naruto directly in the eye.

Sasuke looked shaken though he tried hard not to show it. He was an Uchiha, after all, and he had seen far worse happen to his own clan. Even then, it was obvious that he'd been affected by the tale.

Tazuna seemed the least affected by the story. He was an old man with many years experience. He'd seen several shinobi wars in his lifetime and the kind of things Naruto spoke of, while terrible, were nothing new to him.

Kiba was pale and sickened, but until the death of Akamaru, he'd never really had to face the harsher things in life and most of it went over his head.

Sakura, on the other hand, had tears streaming from her eyes and looked on the verge of loosing her last meal. From the tone of his voice, she knew what Naruto said was absolutely true and it made her feel dirty inside to be part of a village that would act that way.

The story had mostly confirmed the suspicions in Kakashi's mind though there were some questions that still troubled him. "I remember a boy going missing from the village about eight years ago that you resemble somewhat, his name was Naruto as well, Uzumaki Naruto."

"That was my old name," the blond confirmed.

"The thing is, Uzumaki Naruto had a birthmark, six whisker-like marks, three on each cheek... you have none."

Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, the blond answered with a blush and a big smile. "Gomen, I forgot about that, it's been so long. I did used to have them but they faded away after we accidentally messed this up." opening his Gi top, Naruto pulled up his undershirt to show them a very faint, pink, spiral shaped scar on his otherwise unblemished abdomen.

Everyone stared curiously at the odd scar except one. Hatake Kakashi, the copycat ninja, jounin and ANBU captain took one look at the ruined seal and fainted dead away.

**Some words of note**

**Zanbatõ**: Horse chopping saber (real part of the definition on wikipedia) the real life sword that Zabuza's sword is based on.

**Hitai-ate**: Forehead protector

**Fuuma Shuriken**: Windmill Shuriken: Big $$ shuriken

**Katon**: H?senka no Jutsu: Fire release: Phoenix mortal fire technique

**Kaiõ****-**ken: (Jutsu) World King Fist: creates a chakra spike that amplifies speed and strength for a time

**kappouten**: restaurant

**Gomen**: Apologies/I apologise


	2. BuuWho?

Disclaimer: Naruto and DBZ are owned by rich people far away... not me

The Fox and the Monkey Ch2 Buu-Who?

A/N: see the end of the chapter for important info.

Kakashi woke with a startled gasp, panicked and disoriented. Sitting up, he found himself on his sleeping mat in a darkened room. His first thought, one that initially relieved him, was that the last few days had just been a bizarre dream. That relief, however, was short lived as a lifetime of training kicked in and he studied his surroundings.

This wasn't the tidy little apartment he'd had since retiring from ANBU, rather it was a large, airy room with several other sleeping mats laid out on the floor. From the furnishings, it appeared he was at an inn that had seen better days; everything was well kept but worn. His equipment was stacked on a nearby table and he could see both Sasuke and Kiba's packs leaning against another wall. Of his charges and Son Naruto, however, there was no sign.

"Puzzling," he thought. "The last thing I remember was being on the trail, headed toward Tazuna-san's home and now I find myself here... what happened?" Voices from below interrupted his musings and the Jounin made his way, silently, out of the room and toward the stairs. Still off-balance after waking, he strained his ears to listen in on the conversation below.

"Are these the vegetables you wanted sliced, Tsunami-sama?" a voice Kakashi recognized as Sakura asked.

"Yes," replied an older woman. "Thank you for helping Sakura-san, you and your team have been so helpful. Even that charming boy Naruto wanted to help but I guess boys will be boys."

"Hai," the pink haired kuniochi said with a small sigh. "Sasuke-kun wanted to find out more about Naruto so they went into the woods to talk... I think, though, he wants to fight... I hope he doesn't get hurt-OH!"

Having entered the room silently, Kakashi seemed to almost appear by magic in front of Sakura, causing her to scream. His memory of what happened before he passed out now returned, the Jounin wanted desperately to find their blond haired guest. "Sakura," he asked, his lazy tone, hiding the anxiety that now knotted his gut. "You said that Sasuke and Naruto went into the woods for a talk? In which direction?"

"Toward the lake where we were attacked," she answered. "They just left, Kiba too; you don't think they're fighting, do you?"

"Stay here and help Tsunami-san with the meal, I'll return in a bit with the boys," Kakashi answered as he stepped swiftly out the door.

Following a well-marked path behind the house, Kakashi made quick progress toward the place Sakura had said the boys were headed. He tried to empty his mind and focus on the terrain ahead but his mind couldn't help returning to Konoha twelve years ago.

"_Sensei!" cried a silver-haired Jounin of barely fourteen years as he sprinted over the ravaged battlefield. The demon, Kyuubi no Kitsune, had attacked village sowing a swath of destruction in its path. After a majority of Konoha's ninja population had sacrificed itself uselessly against the beast, the Yondaime Hokage himself went forth on Gambunta to face the demon. The very ground heaved as the titans clashed against each other. The summon, while no match for Kyuubi, held the demon long enough for Yondaime to cast his final Jutsu. A shimmering man-like form coalesced behind Minato, driving its arm through him and into the Kyuubi itself. Pulling back, the arm brought with it an evil red presence from the demon and a pure blue one from Yonaime's body. The blue presence was absorbed by the shimmering form and the red passed through and was sent flying toward the edge of the battle field. Man and Demon stood frozen for a brief moment till one collapsed while the other turned to dust and blew away on the evening breeze. It was the still form of Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage that Kakashi now stood over in a state of shock._

"_He gave his life for the village," a voice said behind him as the Jounin knelt beside his sensei. "He always said that was the true purpose of being Hokage."_

"_Sarutobi-sama," Kakashi croaked, his easy going mask cracked as te turned to look up at the Sandaime. "He should have had me do this thing, we need him."_

"_It was something only he could do," replied the aged shinobi. "besides, he left us the harder task by far. We must go on; we'll rebuild the village and watch over his legacy."_

"_His..." Kakashi murmured, finally noticing a tiny bundle in the other man's arms. "What is that?"_

"_Kyuubi couldn't be killed, not by a mortal man," Sarutobi explained. He had to bind it in a vessel who's chakra coils were not yet formed. This is his legacy, his son, the jailer of the nine-tails." As if he knew they were speaking of them, the child in question squirmed and kicked, dislodging the wrapping that covered him. Wailing in discomfort, the Yondaime's child lay before their eyes, a spiral shaped seal still glowing slightly on his stomach._

Voices ahead brought Kakashi out of his reverie and he perched himself in a tree at the edge of the clearing. There, he found Sasuke and Naruto facing each other near the water's edge while Kiba sat off to himself with his back against a tree, oblivious to the world around him. Kakashi frowned at the Inuzuka boy with concern, the loss of his nin-dog was weighing harder on Kiba than He'd expected. His attention was brought back to the other two boys as Sasuke began sharply questioning the blond.

"How did you do it?" he demanded. "Momochi Zabuza is an 'A' class nuke-nin. A Jounin team would be hard pressed to survive a fight with him but you fought off six of his water clones by yourself!"

Scratching his head in embarrassment, Naruto blushed and gave a foxy smile as he reminded the other boy, "I didn't do it by myself, Sasuke-san. Kiba had the first clone distracted and the next two took each other out. I was getting my butt kicked by the last three until you blew your fire attack at them, thanks by the way."

Undeterred by the excuses, Sasuke growled, "I was there, Dobe, I saw you beat those clones. What are you really? You have to be a shinobi!"

"Really, I'm not!" Naruto swore with his hands in the air. "Otou-san is just a really good fighter, he teaches and helps me train."

His eye twitching in annoyance, the Uchiha fell into a fighting stance. "Prove it," he growled. "Fight me."

His eyes brightening with Realization, Naruto fell into his own defensive stance, declaring, "Yatta! A spar! This should be fun!"

The two boys stood in a face-off, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Kakashi watched from the tree, curious despite himself, wanting to see Naruto fight without Zabuza as a distraction. His wait was short, however, as Sasuke, anxious to test himself, chose that moment to attack.

Leaping forward, the Genin launched into a spin-kick that would have shattered a normal person's jaw if it'd connected. The grin never leaving his face, Naruto blocked the kick and side stepped, turning to keep Sasuke directly in front of him. Moving swiftly, the blond made two quick jabs and followed up with a roundhouse kick, all of which were blocked, barely, by Sasuke.

In his tree, Kakashi blinked in confusion. He'd watched the first exchange and was startled to see Naruto moving so much more slowly than he had against Zabuza. His speed and strength seemed to be barely greater than Sasuke himself. Deciding to study the action a bit more closely, the Jounin pulled up his hitai-ate, exposing the sharingan eye and began watching again with increased interest.

In the clearing, Sasuke growled in frustration as he tried to look unaffected by Naruto's strikes. In truth, the Genin felt like he'd nearly broken his wrist and he could already feel bruises forming on his arms. Knowing he couldn't match the blond for strength, Sasuke opted for speed and agility to out-maneuver his opponent.

Sliding forward, Sasuke delivered several quick jabs to Naruto's head and body while dancing around the other boy. Most of the attacks missed and those that did had the Uchiha believing that Naruto had somehow performed quarmi with a tree. The boy's body was solid and unyielding to his blows though Sasuke did seem to have a slight edge in speed. Blocking Naruto's latest counterstrike, Sasuke took hold of the boy's arm and performed a chakra-enhanced shoulder throw, sending the blond headfirst toward a nearby tree.

In the branches above, Kakashi stared down in confusion as the fight progressed. Sasuke was fighting as would be expected, his taijutsu was flawless and chakra enhanced muscles pushed him to feats of strength and speed beyond normal human ability. Naruto, on the other hand was using a form of Taijutsu he'd never seen before, it seemed to rely on brute strength and durability. Not only that but there was no build up of chakra in his muscles before his attacks. Rather, it seemed that the boy's undershirt, wrist bands and sandals had some strange seals on them and were being fed chakra from the blond's body.

The odd thing was, if the chakra-enhanced clothing was supposed to help Naruto fight in some way, why wasn't he moving quickly as he had against Zabuza? While still faster than Sasuke, Naruto's movements were only barely so. Kakashi broke off his musings as Naruto somehow spun in mid-air and hit the tree he'd been thrown at feet first.

As the blond charged back toward him, Sasuke formed a reverse ram seal and murmured "_Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Three perfect copies of him formed and they began dancing among each other, allowing the Uchiha to lose himself in the confusion. Though surprised to see his opponent multiplied, Naruto struck at the nearest one without pause, though the results were not what he'd expected.

Instead of his hand meeting flesh, it found no resistance. Sasuke's image wavered like smoke in a sunbeam before dissipating altogether. Confused, Naruto stopped and brought up his guard against another one of them as it made to attack, only to have a foot driven against the side of his head bu the real Sasuke, knocking him off balance. Even as Naruto turned to face his attacker, Sasuke mixed himself with the other clones that danced around the blond, leaving him with no clear target. The fight continued this way for several minutes, The Uchiha continuing delivering a severe pummeling while the blond ineffectively tried to pick out his real attacker. For every clone Naruto destroyed, Sasuke summoned up another to take its place. Kakashi was beginning to think that the fight was over when he noticed Naruto's nose twitch and his smile redouble.

A similar smile formed under the Jounin's mask as he realized what Naruto had figured out. He waited with more than a little anticipation as Sasuke attacked again. Two of the clones attacked Naruto from the front while the actual Sasuke came in low and from the side. His eyes half closed, the blond ignored the bunshin while doing a flip to kick at the other boy as he passed below. From that moment on, the fight shifted in Naruto's favor yet again.

His bunshin no longer effective, Sasuke used shuriken kunai and even some katon justsus in an attempt to distract the blond and subdue him. Jutsus and most of the weapons were dodged while some that Naruto couldn't avoid were caught with no apparent damage to his hands at all. Sasuke's frustration was evident not only on his face, but in his actions as well. The Uchiha's attacks were becoming sloppy as he allowed his anger to override common sense. His emotions clouding his judgment, Sasuke was actually giving off a weak killer intent when Kakashi decided to enter the clearing and end their spar.

"Yo," he said with a lazy smile, only noticeable by the crinkling of his right eye. He'd covered the Sharingan before jumping down and now stood in a relaxed slouch between the two to prevent the fight continuing. "It's good to see you practicing your skills so diligently, Sasuke. Just remember that Naruto isn't a shinobi, he doesn't know how to defend himself from more than taijutsu." Ignoring the disdainful snort from the Uchiha, he turned to Naruto and complimented him on his Taijutsu. "You fight well, Naruto, where did you learn your style, I don't think I've seen anything like it before."

"It's the fighting style of my otou-san, Son Goku," Naruto exclaimed proudly. "I've been learning it since he rescued me."

Nodding serenely to hide his distress over Naruto having to be 'rescued' from his own village, the Jounin instead addressed Sasuke and Kiba. "why don't you two go back and see if Tsunami-san needs any help preparing the meal?" he asked pointedly. "Perhaps you should have her or Saura help you clean and wrap your hands as well," he added, noticing the Uchiha's bloodied nuckles. Sasuke growled something unintelligible and shot a hot look at Naruto before collecting his team mate and leaving the clearing.

"You fought well against Sasuke," he commented, trying to find a way to start. "Your sensei should be proud."

"He is," answered the beaming blond as he began to idly stretch after his workout. "He says I could even catch up to him some day."

"Hn... what I really wanted to speak with you about was the scar on your stomach. What do you know about it?"

"It was a seal," Naruto answered casually. "Somebody, the Yondaime I guess, sealed Buu-san in my belly."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Buu."

"Buu... Buu who?"

"Don't cry Kakashi-san," Naruto said with exagerated innocence. "He's not there anymore and I'm all better now."

Kakashi sweat dropped as he stared at the grinning teen before pulling himself back together. "Naruto, the thing sealed in you wasn't named Buu, it was-"

"Kyuubi," The blond answered calmly. "That's what everybody calls him but he's had a lot of names, the first one was Buu. That's the name otou-san knows him by."

"Kyuubi is thousands of years old, how could he know the Demon's first name?"

"He's been away for a while," Naruto answered cryptically. "Anyway, the seal was for Buu-san."

"Do you know why he was sealed in you?"

"Not exactly, Buu-san said that as Kyuubi he got summoned to attack the village and he is too powerful to be killed by a human. I guess the Yondaime had to seal him to stop him."

"That's right," Kakashi agreed. "The Kyuubi is very dangerous. It destroyed a major part of the village before it could be stopped. The only way to do it was to make a deal with the Shinigami and seal the demon inside a newborn who's chakra coils weren't formed yet. To do this, the Yondaime gave his life; if the Kyuubi is free, we need to know if it will be a danger to the village."

"After otou-san got me away from the villagers he tried giving me a little bit of his chakra to help strengthen me after giving me the Senzu bean. Something happened and it woke up my bloodline."

"Bloodline? I didn't know Min- I didn't know your family had a bloodline-limit."

Catching Kakashi's slip but not commenting on it, Naruto continued cooling down as he bent over, went smoothly into a hand-stand and began walking around the clearing upside-down. "Everyone has it," he answered. "Buu-san says that most shinobi of any ability or bloodline can trace it back to the first bloodline. Something in otou-san's chakra woke it up. When that happened my body kind ate up the energy of the seal and started on Kyuubi too. Otou-san could tell something was wrong and took me to a friend's house just before Kyuubi got free.

At first Buu-san didn't remember who he was and he attacked otou-san and Mr. Popo. They ended up having a big fight, I don't remember it very well 'cause I was on the ground curled up in pain from the change but Mr. Popo told me Buu-san remembered himself right before he got beat."

"Who's Mr. Po- He remembered himself right before he was going to beat Goku-san?"

Kakashi's question had Naruto look at him and laugh incredulously. To do so, he went effortlessly into a one-handed stand and twisted to look incredulously in the Jounin's direction. "No! Otousan was about to kick Buu-san's butt but something happened and he quit being the Kitsune and went back to his first form."

"His first... Naruto, you know, no one could beat the Kyuubi, you said it yourself!"

Laughing, Naruto corrected, "No I didn't Kakashi-san. It doesn't matter now anyway because Buu-san isn't Kyuubi and that means you have nothing to worry about."

While far from satisfied with Naruto's explanation, Kakashi decided to let it drop for the moment. Instead, he asked about something else that had his interest. "You have a bloodline now," he asked in a casual tone. "does it have a name? Can you tell me anything about it?"

Falling out of his handstand into a lotus position in one movement, Naruto leaned back on his elbows and answered. "I guess it really doesn't. Otou-san has the pure form of the original blood-line he says he's a Saiyan. Because I had the Kitsune sealed in me when it was awakened, mine changed, I'm the first of my bloodline.

As for what it does, well I can use chakra a little easier than a lot of people and I'm a little stronger and harder to hurt. There's some other stuff that's not really important and then _theresthetail_."

Missing the last part of Naruto's answer, Kakash asked, "what was that?"

Scrambling to his feet and glancing around the clearing to make sure they were truly alone, the blond said, "You've got to swear not to tell anybody about this, especially girls." he said with a serious expression. Pulling up his Gi-top again, Naruto exposed his waistline and a fuzzy red belt nearly hidden under the hem of his undershirt. The Jounin wouldn't have noticed it at all except that it suddenly moved on its own and uncoiled from around Naruto's waist. In moments, the orange-clad boy had a four foot long, bushy red tail that swished about, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

"You have a..."

"A tail." Naruto finished with resignation. "Otou-san has one too, all Saiyans start out with one. It's really strong and I can even grab things with it, it's like a third arm in a fight but..."

"But what?" Kakashi asked in confusion. "While it's a bit odd seeing a boy with a tail, it seems to be nothing but beneficial... why are you so down about it?"

"You have to understand..." Naruto sputtered. "Girls..."

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura called as she entered the clearing. Tsunami-san sent me to get you for... SQEEEEE!!!!"

The pink haired Kunoichi darted across the clearing with a smitten look on her face, took Naruto's tail in her arms and began to stroke it like a puppy. The blond stood rooted, first in abject fear then with an expression of weak-kneed bliss.

Kakashi watched with a combination of confusion and amusement as the scene continued for a long moment. Suddenly, Naruto's face flared red and he pulled the front of his Gi-top as low as he could manage. "Gomen, Kakashi-san, Sakura-san," he squeaked. "I'll go see if they need any help setting the table!" Without another word, the blond fled the clearing he almost seemed to vanish.

Sakura looked after him with a dazed look in her eye before snapping out of it and sighing. "He didn't have to run off, I was trying to tell you both everything was ready." Kakashi, not trusting himself to answer proplerly, giggled as he pulled out his little orange book.

* * *

A/N: to keep things equal (or closer) I plan on having two or three other characters awaken their Saiyan bloodline. I have a couple obvious choices in the wave arc though as I advance the plot in my head, the field narrows. in the ffnet forums on my bio-page I have a poll to see who you all think should have their Saiyan heritage awakened. ROCK THE VOTE!!!

Also, you know who Kyuubi was, what if there are other familiar Biiju out there (yes there are-- evil laugh) tell me who you see in what Biiju. And if anybody is curious, Buu has been Kyuubi for 9000 years... Goku was off with Shenron for a good part of that.

R&R


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